Generator voltage regulator



Nov. 26, 1935. J oy-"n5 2,021,941

GENERA'fO R VOLTAGE REGULATOR Filed Nov. 17, 1933 mm'ox ffomerjiofizls;

Patented Nov. 26, 1935 UNITED s'ra'rss omaa'ron vom'acn momma Homer J. Loltis, Ironton, onio, assignor to Kenrite Products corporation or Ohio.

Ironton, Ohio, a

Application November 11, 1933, Serial No. season 2 Claims. (Cl. 111-229) This invention relates, generally, to the regution of the output voltage oigenerators and especially automobile type generators, and theinvention has reference, more particularly, to a novel generator voltage regulator adapted to maintain the output voltage of generators substantially constant.

The output voltage of automobile generators usuallyvaries within wide limits due to the greatly va yin speed of the automobile engine in use. This fluctuation oi the generator output voltage is highly objectionable and injurious not only because it tends to cause oxidation of the distributor contacts resulting in poor engine operation, but also because the varying voltage applied to the storage battery, lamps, etc., greatly shortens the life of. such equipment. 4

g The principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel'generator voltage regulator that is adapted to maintain the generator output voltage substantially constant regardless of speed variations of the automotive engine.

Another object of the present invention lies in the provision a novel generator voltage r sulator having resistor means fresponsive to the speed 01' the engine for varying thegenerator excitation to compensate for engine speed variations, thereby obtaining constant generator voltage output;

Still another object oi. the present invention is to provide a novel generator voltage regulator or the above character that is of simple rugged construction and has an extremely long life in' use, the said regulator being adapted to be easily and quickly applied to generators.

Other objects 01 this invention, not at this time inore particularly enumerated, will be clearly understood from the following detailed description of the same.

Th'e invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary view with parts broken away of an automobile generator equipped with the novel voltage regulator of this invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 01' Fig. 1 looking in the direction 01 the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a-view similar to Fig. 2, but illustrates theoperation of the regulator upon an increase in speed of the engine, and v Fig.4isaWiringillustratingatypical circuit involved.

Similar characters of reference are employed insald views, tov indicate corresponding parts.

Referring now to the said drawing, the refere'nce numeral I dtes a generator. as oi the automotive having a generator shaft 2 driven from the automobile engine by a belt or other suitable means (not shown). The shunt fleld winding 3 and the generator armature 4 are shown diagrammatically in dotted lines in Fig. 1. 6

According to the preferred construction, a cylindrlcal slip ring housing 5, open at one end and closed at its other end 8 is attached to the casing of generator I in concentric relationto generator shaft 2 by'means of screws 1 and spac- 10 ing collars t. The closed end 6, of housing 5 has a central aperture through which the shaft 2 projects. A disc 9 of insulation material is mount-' ed in fixed position in housing I adjoining the end i of this housing. A suitable slip ring it is carried by disc Q in concentric relation to shaft 2 and this slip ring is electrically connected to a lead Ii which in turn is electrically connected to the negative side of the ileld winding 3.

Acollar i3isflxedongeneratorshait2 asbym a, set screw it and this collar projects somewhat into the open end of housing 5. The portion of collar i3 projecting into housingi has anwinsuiating disc I! fixed thereon, which disc carries a metallic slip ring," that is similar and opposed to slip ring III. A spring contact washer I1 is interposed between slip rings in and I8 and engages these slip rings so that in use current will pass from the stationary ring lil through contact washer IT to rotating ring it. 80

A metallic disc II is fixed on collar l3 and carries two annularly spaced posts I! and 20 which are attached to disc it as by screws 2|. A curved or bow shaped resistor 22 extends between the posts i! and 2. and has its ends supported by 85 these posts. The resistor 22 is illustrated as a rigid molded unit consisting, for example, of electrically conducting and non-conducting materials, such as carbon, feldspar and mica, together with a condensation product serving as a binder. The ends of the resistor unit 22 may be attached to posts I! and 20 in any desired manner, for

- example, these ends are illustrated as having studs 28 moulded therein, which studs extend through holes in posts I! and 2| and are secured to these posts by nuts 24. The end of resistor 22 attached tb post II is insulated from this post Another fly-weight is turnably mounted on a stud 3| also projecting irom disc II but at the 66 fly-weights 21 and SI and has its ends pivotally connected to thme iiy-weights, thereby causing these ily-weights to function together in F use. Fly-weight 21 has a spring contact arm 33 secured thereto, which contact arm urges a movable contact member 34 into engagement with the resistor i2. Contact member 8| is illustrated as a mercury contact such as disclosed in my Patent #1908308, but it is to be understood that any type of movable contact or brush may be used. Spring contact arm a is shown groundeduponthediscllbyaleadfl.

A coil tension spring I! has one end connected to the fly-weight 1'1 and its other end connected to an eye-bolt 31. The shank of eye-bolt 31 extends through an aperture in a bracket ll that is provided on post ll. Nuts a threaded on eyebolt 31' and engaging bracket ll provide for the adjustment of thetension of spring 38. Spring 36 tends to turn or pull the fly-weight 21 and hence also the fly-weight 3| inwardly toward the shaft 2. A stop pin ll projecting from disc ll, serves to limit the inward turning movement of fly-weights 21 and II under the action of spring 36. These fly-weights have cut out portions 42 for conforming to and accommodating the shaft 2 when these fly-weights are fully retracted as shown in Fig. 2, in which position the fly-weight 21 engages stop pin II. A cover member 43 encloses the resistor 22, fly-weights 21 and SI and associated parts and is attached to the periphery of disc II as by screws 44.

In use, current for exciting neld winding I is supplied from armature 4, (see Fig. 4) such exciting current passing from the positive terminal of armature I through field winding 8, through lead ll, slip 111188 I. and I, and lead is 1'8- sistor 22. This current leaves resistor 22 by way of movable contact 34, contact arm II, and lead,

35 to ground, the negative side of the generator being also grounded.

As the speed of the engine and hencethatoi shaft-2 increases, the ily-weights I! and I. move outwardlymore and more against the tension spring 36 owing to the action of centrifugal force. This outward movement of the fly-weights causes contact arm I] to move outwardly also, so that contact 34 is moved along resistor R from terminal post it toward terminal post II, as especially shown in Fig. 3; Thusfmore and more of the resistor '22 is included in the circuit 0! iieid winding 3 as the engine increases its speed. Thus, the current in the ileld winding is reduced with 4 increase in speed so tint the resulting In). 1''.

generated by the generator remains substantially constant regardless of speed, or in other words the exciting flux is substantially inversely pro- --portional to the speed oi the generator. The

magnitude of the ohmic resistances necessary to include in the iield winding circuit to maintain constant output voltage at various M may be 2,021,041 emu-nae of mm 2. A link a: extends between determincdbyactualtests,ifdesired,andthe resistor 22 made up of suitable sections having proportions of conducting and insulating materialssoastogivethedesiredrmistancesthroughout therangeofspeedoi'theengine. Inother 5 words, the resistor 22 is made upof resistance .sections having ohmic resistancm varying to match the characteristics of the generator to the end that a wnstant output voltage is obtained regardless oi speed. i

Although my novel .device has been disclosed in connection with the regulation 0! generator voltage, the principles oi the same may be utilised in other developments such, for example, as electric speedometers, motor-speed regulators and is starting devices for split phase motors.

Asmanychangescouidbemadeintheabove constructionv and many apparently widely diiierent embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, as defined by the following claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above descriptim or shown in the accompany drawing shall be interpreted as illustrated and not in a limiting sense. i

I claim:-

1. In a device of the character describcd'ior controlling the output voltage of a generator having an armature and field winding, a bow shap d resistor mounted for rotation with the armature s0 shaft of the generator, fly-weight mechanism also mounted for rotation with the mature shaft of the generator, a contact member carried by said flv-weight mechanism and ensss s said resistor, means ior connecting said contact member'and one endof-said resistorin the circuit of the generator field winding, said fly-weight mechanism acting, with increase mm of the generator armature, to move said contact memher over said resistor to'thereby increase the resistance in the generator flcld winding circuit.

2. In a device of the character described for controlling the output voltage of a generator having an armature and held winding, a bow shaped resistor mounted for rotation with the armahire shait oi the generator, ily-weight mechanism also mounted for rotation with the armature shaft of the generator, spring means for urging said ily-. weight mechanism inwardly toward the armature shaft, a contact member resiliently carried so vb said fly-wdght mechanism and enga i said resistor, said contact member and one and of said raistor being connected in the generator field winding circuit, said iiy-weight mechanism acting, withincreaeeinspeedof thegenerator armature, to move outwardly under the action of centrifugal force against \the tension of said spring means, thereby moving said contact munber over said resistor and increasing the resistanceoi'theileldwindingcircmttomaintama substantially constant generator output voltage.

' HOMER J. IDPI'IBL 

